A taxi driver was sexually assaulted by a registered sex offender who she picked up from a Port Jefferson hospital Tuesday night, Suffolk County police said.
Police arrested 34-year-old Francis Barrios after he allegedly assaulted the woman while she was driving the taxi, and then again after the vehicle crashed.
Barrios, who is homeless, was charged with assault, attempted rape, strangulation, and committing a criminal sexual act. He is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday at First District court in Central Islip.
Police said the woman picked up Barrios at John T. Mather Memorial Hospital and was assaulted inside the taxi, causing it to crash into a fence on Mount Sinai-Coram Road in Mount Sinai at 7:40 p.m. Barrios allegedly continued to sexually assault the woman after the crash, police said.
Patrol officers responded to the scene after a passing motorist called 911, police said. Barrios was arrested after an investigation at the scene of the crash, police said.
Authorities did not say why Barrios was at the hospital.
The police department is withholding the name of the cab company as to protect the identity of the victim.
Barrios was sentenced to 42 months in state prison following a first-degree rape conviction in 2004, according to a database of registered sex offenders maintained by New York State. Barrios’ profile states the female victim in the 2004 assault was 12 years old.
